Saralas: The Feywild Chapter 5

The Feywild: Chapter 5

Translated from the original Elvish by the historian Steve Block

Initial bullet points captured during the translation process can be found below.

Leaving Telemy Hill

Our business with Jingle Jangle finished and the iron key safely stored away, the willows escorted us off Telemy Hill. We set our sights for Downfall, hoping to find this guide, Clapperclaw, and get some more information on this realm if we could from the citizens. We'd have to be careful with this Bavlorna around. Ideally we could avoid her for now until we figured out how to deal with the problems here.

Near the bottom of the hill I noticed dark storm clouds building on the horizon. Though we weren't in immediate danger, the clouds weren't far off, and the storm looked strong. I wondered if we could make our way to Downfall without running into the storms or not. The way travel seemed to work in this land it was hard to be certain. Baerwin was wondering the same thing. I suggested we travel for Downfall but also imagine it in pleasant weather. I looked around to make sure we were all accounted for. As I did so Karthos walked out of the trees, dripping wet, having already found the storms. Korag was missing, as was Kaira.

Nothing to be done about it, we headed best as we could towards Downfall. I tried to hold pleasant weather in my mind, but after some time on the road it seemed to be futile. It started to rain, but the rain was unusual. Rather than falling out of the sky like normal drain, the raindrops amassed on the ground, coalesced, and flew into the air. It's harmless, but wet.

The Death of Pearl, Finding Bun, and Min

We traveled for a while longer, wet but otherwise unharmed. After some time, we heard indistinct yelling and the ringing sounds of a what might be a sword fight. We approached quietly through the trees. Ahead of us in a small clearing were two figures battling, the smaller figure seemed to be winning, but as soon as they noticed us they ran off quickly into the woods. The second person took a few steps, staggered, and dropped to the ground, red blood pooling under white fur.

I ran forward and checked their injuries. They were facedown in the mud, bleeding profusely. I carefully rolled the body over and, taken aback, recognized Pearl, our companion from before the time hop. She had been stabbed hundreds of times. She was still alive, but barely. I wasn't sure where to even start with healing. She opened her eyes, focused on me. She clearly recognized me too, and sighed. She pointed towards a tree in the near distance, then exhaled once, and died.

There wasn't anything I could do. I can heal small wounds and the like but I can't fix death. We didn't have a cleric with us. We were too late.

I checked her over, looking for any clues that might explain what she was doing. She didn't carry much other than adventuring supplies, but I did find some notes. The ink was smearing in the rain. They included some maps around Icewind Dale, references to Min Needle, and a sketch of Bun. She also had a copy of the rhyme we used to enter the Feywild from the portal in the Witchlight Carnival.

I walked over to the tree she indicated and searched around. The tree leaned over me and opened its branches. Inside this small shelter, wet and shivering, was Bun.

"Is she gone?" he asked. Any surprise I might have indicated on our formerly mute companion was lost in my confusion at finding Pearl dead, finding Bun here. The rabbit talking hardly registered.

"Which one?" said Resda.

"Min"

"She's gone. Pearl is dead though."

At these words, bun flew over to Pearl's corpse and began to weep. I walked back over and did what I could to comfort the inconsolable stuffed rabbit. It took a few minutes, but eventually he calmed down.

"What happened since we last saw you, Bun?" I asked.

He told us the tale of how Min initially set out to find help for him, but was eventually overcome by the daggers. She planned to use him in some kind of dark ritual, but thankfully Pearl tracked them down and rescued him. Pearl had been sent by the Bullywog of the South to retrieve Bun. She did so, and then fled to the Feywild hoping to elude Min. Unfortunately it wasn't far enough.

I looked Bun over. Besides being able to talk now, he looked much healthier than the last time we saw him. It seems returning him to the Feywild helped him, as he was a creature of the place. This confirmed what Professor Skant interpreted from the ancient book about magical creatures that I retrieved from Ythryn. We talked a bit more, and then heard maniacal laughter coming from the trees. I recognized Min's voice, but she didn't sound right to me. Then silence.

Baerwin pulled out a shovel and started digging a shallow grave for Pearl. After placing her gently in it, he piled stones into a small cairn. None of us really had anything to say over the grave though. We were with Pearl for such a short time before Karthos broke time and sent us back, and we didn't get to know her well.

Resda asked Bun what he had done since we parted ways back at the Inn in Lonelywood. He floated over to her and said "I'm from the Feywild, but I don't really remember. I just know we have to find Granny Nightshade and save my friends."

I told him that we planned to free Zabilna, the former ruler of this place, and asked if that was his goal as well.

"Zabilna... Zabilna... I almost remember that name."

He wasn't sure if that was his goal or not. He was insistent that we help his friends who are with Granny Nightshade. I remember that Jingle Jangle said Granny Nightshade was one of the three hags who overthrew Zabilna and took this place over. Rescuing his friends might be tricky. Still, I definitely owe Bun at least one for his help with Elodie and the grandkids.

"Bun, do you know anything about the cauldron the hags used to take over?" I asked, but he was preoccupied looking around the forest.

"Why are you looking so worried, Bun?" asked Resda.

The stuffed rabbit looked scared. "She could come back and kill you all." We decided to keep moving.

The Soggy Court

We kept going through the rain towards Downfall, more carefully than before. We were watching for signs of Min. Unfortunately, being more cautious meant we also made slower progress. Eventually though we found ourselves facing a wide river. Near the riverbank stood a large gazebo, and several bullywogs, dressed in formal attire, were having dinner at a dining table set within.

Resda hailed them cordially, and they responded in kind. One shouted out "Greetings travelers!"

"It's a fine day for a picnic," said Resda.

The bullywogs seemed offended. "Picnic!? Don't be so rude, this is a formal dinner!"

We learned they were proud members of the Soggy Court Auxiliary, and their job was to make sure that their King Gullup's wishes were carried out in this part of Hither. "Would you like something to eat?" one said to Resda, holding out a large roasted insect.

"No thank you," said Resda, as politely as she could for someone refusing the hospitality of another in this realm. She then warned them of Min, but they only laughed.

"We're not afraid of a little girl!"

Resda then described Min and the daggers, and they quickly stopped laughing. Resda asked who Gullup was. We learned that he is their leader, and when Resda then asked if she was in opposition to Bavlorna they started laughing again. "She is our queen, of course."

We ran into a little more trouble asking about getting to Downfall. When Resda asked about safe passage across the river one of the bullywogs started getting quite curious. He pressed us on where we were heading, and when Downfall came up asked what business we had that couldn't be brought before the Auxiliary assembled here. Resda explained we were looking for a guide. They kept pressing for a name. I mentioned Clapperclaw. How did we know Clapperclaw? This was getting tense. I admit Jingle Jangle told us about him.

They got very interested at this point, and pressed for Jingle Jangle's location. We managed to remain vague, blaming our uncertainty on unfamiliarity with the land of Hither. They seemed to believe it, and told us that there was a rather large reward for finding her. Apparently she disappointed the queen.

"And what happens if someone disappoints the queen?" asked Ka.rthos.

One of the bullywogs rubbed his chin. "Well, there was Mullog" he said. He then described how they boiled him alive in oil, and started with cold oil, so it took longer. It's pretty bad.

Trying to move the conversation back to our trip to Downfall, Baerwin asked again how to cross the river to get there. The bullywogs laughed again. "You don't *cross* the river, you go up the river, or down the river. Both!" Looking more carefully I saw that the river seemed to flow both up and downstream at the same time. Another oddity of this place.

There were several skiffs and poles parked near the riverside. We asked about hiring one of them. They asked for Resda in payment, but she was, unsurprisingly unwilling.

Up-Down the River

Hiring a skiff and heading up or down the river seemed a good way to proceed, but giving up Resda for the boat was not going to work. Karthos, thinking quickly, pulled out a gem and offered it to the bullywogs. The one we had been talked to put on a jeweler's loupe he pulled from a pouch at his waist and inspected it closely. After a while peering at the gem he nodded, and agreed to trade one of the skiffs for the gem. Karthos quickly accepted.

I remembered our last time in a boat. "Resda, don't blow this one up," I cautioned. She insisted it would be fine.

Baerwin refused to budge until we talked more about our path forward. He asked if it was upstream or downstream to Downfall. I looked at the river, flowing both directions, and then back at Baerwin. "If the river goes both directions, isn't the answer 'Yes'?" I replied, levelly.

We climbed aboard the skiff and tried to float downstream, or maybe upstream, towards our goal. As we floated, I noticed a shadow flitting from bush to bush through the brush along the banks. I thought it might be Min's shadow, but wasn't certain. Karthos clearly noticed it too. We warned the others, and watched the shoreline carefully, but didn't see more.

The Water Nymphs

We floated along for a while without incident. I started feeling drowsy, and sat lazily on the skill, using my pack as a backrest as Baerwin poled the skiff along. At some point I started hearing a haunting, enticing music. I got up, and looking over the side of the skiff I noticed figures gliding lazily just below the surface of the water. Their pale faces were turned upwards, eyes closed, as if asleep. They were beautiful, translucent river nymphs. Their hair floated in the water like ink; their limbs too long for their bodies; their mouths slightly wrong when they smiled in their sleep.

They seemed to know we were there. Voices rose in unison. "We can take your weight, your sorrow," and more like that. Asking or demanding our memories in payment. Nothing good could come from this, and I tried to ignore their song. But they kept speaking. "Give us your pain and misery!" they insisted, and I heard banging on the bottom of the boat.

"So heavy in sorrow you must be, little one," crooned one of the nymphs.

I heard something break the surface. A rotting hand coiled its way around the side of the skiff, and a half-rotted once-beautiful face came into view. "If you're not willing to give of your pain freely it must be delicious," it crooned.

Karthos slapped at the figure with his staff, and it slid back into the water. They weren't done though. I heard scrabbling at the bottom of the skiff, fingernails on the lid of a coffin. Then the skiff lurched, threatening to throw anyone not braced into the river.

Baerwin was getting agitated. "Don't make me come down there," he shouted.

"Come down here! Give us your pain!" they replied.

This seemed to be Baerwin's breaking point. With a roar, he shouted "I'll give you pain!", and fired off a chromatic orb int o the water. There was a flash as the spell hit the water, and then, enraged, three nymphs emerged from the water, floating 20 feet in the air, their bloated, rotting corpses dripping into the water.

Baerwin had turned a dangerous situation into a stand-up fight. Outside the river, the beauty I had perceived was revealed to be rotting, ugly, and dying.

One hit Baerwin pretty hard, not surprising as he had attacked first. The next cast a spell and a second Baerwin, a convincing copy, climbed out of the water and up onto the skiff. Baerwin attacked the other him, but the blows seemed to hit him as well, and he recoiled, shouting in pain.

We kept fighting. I targeted the nymph nearest me and hit with a couple of arrows. In response, the three sang as a group, making a horrible wailing noise. My worst memories appeared before me, and I heard one shout "You choose to carry your pain? Drown in it then."

I pushed through, and killed the first of the three with an arrow through the eye. I turned to the next nymph, but shot wide, distracted by the memories they had forced me to relive. One of the remainign nymphs tried to drown Baerwin, summoning huge spectral hands made of water. They grasped him but he managed to stay out of the water.

We kept fighting, but as we did I found myself surrounded by thick fog, reliving the trauma of being snatched by the grell in the mine near Termalaine. I couldn't move for the fear.

I recovered after a while, and fired off another couple of arrows. The first hit true, but I struggled to keep my concentration, and missed my second shot. Baerwin kept his head though, and managed to kill another nymph. We were prevailing! When he did, the last nymph screamed in pain and sorrow, and slipped beneath the water.

The other Bearwin, who had been mostly quiet during the fight, turned and attacked Resda. Seeing this, I kicked him as hard as he could and he flew off the skiff into the water.

Korag Appears. Making Camp

I watched the other Baerwin disappear into the river, then looked up. I saw a shadow on the riverbank, but it was to big to be Min. I looked closer, seeing Korag. Where had he been? We poled the skiff to the riverbank to pick him up. Korag declined to explain his absence, beyond confirming he wasn't with Kaira.

I took a minute to fill him in on what we had seen so far. Mostly our trip on the river.

"You forgot a bit," said Resda, and filled him in on the Min and Pearl fiasco. Bun waved hi. It had been a long day on the river, and I guess I forgot that event. We were getting tired though. At least the rain had stopped. I searched a while for a good place to pitch camp, and a few hundred feet in from the river bank I found a very nice site. As I was setting up my own camp I suddenly noticed a trident flying towards us out of the corner of my eye and dove out of the way.f the way.

"I forgot my trident," Bearwin said.

I started working out a watch schedule so we could safely rest here, but before I finished assigning times to people Karthos said a few words and four trees uprooted themselves and started patrolling the perimeter of the camp. Next a thick wall of fog sprang up around us. Karthos was setting protective enchantments.

He warned us that the enchantments would need safe passage, and the password was "Karthos is Great." Karthos is great indeed. I snorted in derision. We argued for a while about how great Karthos was, until eventually I threw up my hands, yelled "Yeah he's just so great!" and stalked off to light my pipe. I calmed down and was able to rest and recover from our fight earlier in the day.

In the morning Resda looked like she had not rested at all.

The Problem of Min

We talked for a while in the new day about what to do about Min. I mused on whether we should try to take the daggers or destroy them. But how could we destroy them? I assumed that given their obvious evil that a simple forge would not do. Baerwin started talking about the hammer he was drawn to in Ythyrn. I angrily pointed out that the anvil was more important, and that letting him take the hammer wouldn't have sorted our problems now.

Without answers to the question of Min, we broke camp and started working out way back to the river. I scouted out this campsite and should have had no problem navigating back to the river. But as I'd noticed before things didn't seem to work as expected here. I shouldn't be able to be lost, but I found myself wondering if we were on the right track. Certainly didn't say anything though.

Eventually on the route back to the skiff (which should have been short) we came to a glade in the woods, the sky swirling with clouds. In the center of the glade was a corrupted rift, flickering between light and dark.

I tried to move closer, but felt a psychic pressure, like the air itself resisted my advance. I pressed forward, and suddenly the pressure released and the air felt hollow. A figure emerged from the rift and mist.

It was a floating, emaciated human. His face shifted, from one face to another, rapidly. Where he walked the grass wilted and petrified. I could sense terrible power.

The figure looked at us and spoke. "You saw her, I smell it. The thief, the coward. The fool who speaks to them as if they are pets. Where is Min? Where are the daggers? You have until my breath cools to answer." It was Raksha, the owner of the terrible daggers.

Resda tried to explain, "We only saw her briefly," she said.

"She killed our friend," added Karthos.

Raksha snorted in disgust. He wanted her location and we only had vague indications. His form then splintered into hundreds of mirrored shadows that streaed into the forest in all directions. He was gone. But the rift was still there, black mist spilled across the ground. It didn't seem like we should hang around.

Still, we argued for a while about next steps. I wanted to try to track Min, but Karthos was loudly pretending that what we just saw never happened. But you can't make the world a better place by ignoring the bad things in it. After a short argument I agreed to head back to the boat, but planned to keep an eye out for Min.

The Other Bearwin

I shouldn't get lost. If I've seen a place before I should be able to find my way back to it with little trouble. It's something I am very good at. But it took far too long to find our way back to the river and our skiff.

Eventually though, we did make it back to the river. We found our skiff, the other Baerwin was sitting in it.

Baerwin called out, "Daerwin, brother, will you join us on our quest?"

It didn't reply, and clutched it's glaive, readying for a fight.

I took a moment to study this creature, but unfortunately although it seemed familiar, nothing specific came to mind. The others wanted to kill it, but hurting it seemed to hurt Baerwin.

Korag suggested killing it, and then saving Baerwin. The others seemed to think this was a good idea. Baerwin was eager, even, and threw his trident.

Raw Notes

Leaving Telemy Hill

• As we make our way off Telemy Hill, storm clouds appear on the horizon
• I take a look at the storms, they are not over us but not far
• Maybe we can head for Downfall, but try to skirt around the storms
• Baerwin wonders how we could avoid the storms, the way weather works here
• I suggest holding the destination of Downfall but in pleasant weather
• We start on our way, and as we do Karthos walks out of the trees, dripping wet
• We move along for some time towards Downfall. Not long after it begins to rain, but it's unusual.
• The drops amass on the ground, and then back up into the air. It's not harmful but we do get quite wet

The Death of Pearl, Finding Bun, and Min

• After a time we hear indistinct yelling and what seems like a sword fight
• We approach quietly. In a small clearing we see two figures battling. One seems to have bested the other, but as soon as they notice us darts off into the woods. The other person staggers and drops to the ground, bloody.
• I step forward and check their injuries. They are laying face down and bleeding profusely. As I roll the body over, I see that it is Pearl, and she has been stabbed hundreds of times.
• She is still alive, recognizes me, and sighs. She points at a tree in the near distance, before exhaling and dying.
• I check her over for anything that might explain what she is doing. She doesn't have much, but she does have some notes, the ink smearing in the rain. The notes include some maps around Icewind Dale, references to Min Needle, and a sketch of Bun. She also has a copy of the rhyme we used to activate the portal to get into the Feywild.
• I go to the tree she pointed at and search. The tree leans over and opens its branches. Inside is Bun, wet and shivering.
• "Is she gone?" Bun asks.
• "Which one?" asks Resda.
• "Min."
• "She's gone. Pearl is dead though." Bun flies over to the corpse of Pearl and begins crying.
• I walk over and try to comfort Bun, who seems inconsolable.
• After a few minutes he calms down, and begins to tell the tale of how eventually Min was overcome by the daggers. She planned to use Bun in some kind of ritual, before he was rescued by Pearl, who had been sent by the Bullywog of the South to retrieve her. She fled to the Feywild hoping to elude Min, but it wasn't far enough.
• Bun seems revived, and no longer sick.
• We hear Min laughing maniacally in the trees, then nothing.
• Baerwin digs a grave for Pearl, and looks for stones for a cairn.
• None of us really have anything to say, we never really got to know Pearl.
• Bun floats over to Resda, and says "I'm from the Feywild, but I don't really remember. We have to find Granny Nightshade, and save the others."
• I tell Bun we plan to free Zabilna and the others from the time freeze.
• Bun whispers to himself "Zabilna. I almost remember that name."
• He is not sure if he supports our goals, he just wants to help his friends which are with Granny Nightshade.
• We don't know exactly what to do next.
• I ask Bun if he knows about the cauldron, but he is preoccupied with looking around the forest looking worried.
• "Why are you looking worried, Bun?" asks Resda.
• "She could come back and kill you all."
• Bun lets Resda know that Min also took her dagger of stabbing from him.

The Soggy Court Auxiliary

• We travel through the rain for more time. Unfortunately the more cautious we are, the slower we move.
• Eventually, we come to a wide river. There is a large dining room table set here in a gazebo, occupied by several bullywogs in formal attire, who appear to be having dinner.
• Resda says hello. They take notice, and one shouts out "Greetings travelers!"
• "It's a fine day for a picnic," says Resda.
• "A picnic!? Don't be so rude, this is a formal dinner."
• They are proud members of the Soggy Court Auxiliary
• They make sure that Gullup's wishes are carried out in this part of the land.
• Resda declines, and warns them of Min. They laugh.
• "We're not afraid of a little girl," but stop laughing when Resda mentions the daggers.
• She asks who Gullop is, he is their leader. She asks if he is in opposition to Bavlorna. They reply in the negative. "She is our queen of course."
• Baerwin asks if there is safe passage across the river. One stands and walks over, asking where we want to go. When we say Downfall, they ask what business we have there that cannot be brought before the Auxiliary.
• Resda explains that we are looking for a friend. Eventually it comes out that we are looking for Clapperclaw, and that Jingle Jangle told us about him. They ask repeatedly where Jingle Jangle is. We are vague.
• There is a reward for her, for disappointing the queen. A large reward.
• "What happens if someone disappoints the Queen?" asks Karthos.
• "Well, there was Mullog" says one of the Bullywogs. They describe boiling him in oil, it's pretty bad.
• Baerwin asks how to cross the river. The Bullywogs say we don't go across the river, we go up the river. Or down the river.
• We ask about the skiffs at the riverside. They ask for some payment, they want Resda.

Up/Down the River

• Karthos pulls out a gem and offers it. After inspecting it for a while the bullywog says he would be willing to trade one of the skiffs for it.
• Karthos accepts.
• "Resda don't blow this one up," I caution her.
• Baerwin tries to reason out which way we should go to Downfall.
• "Is it upstream or downstream?" he asks
• "If the river goes both directions isn't the answer yes?" I reply levelly.
• We climb aboard the skiff and try to float toward Downfall.
• As we float up/down the river, Karthos and I both notice a shadow flitting between the brush on the banks, but we can't be certain.

The Water Nymphs

• As we float I hear music, and notice figures gliding lazily just below the surface of the water, pale faces turned upwards, eyes closed, as if asleep. Beautiful, translucent river nymphs. Their hair floats like ink, limbs too long for their bodies, mouths slightly wrong when they smile.
• Voices rise in unison "We can take your weight, your sorrow" and more. I try to stop listening.
• "Give us your pain and misery," they insist, and I hear a banging on the bottom of the boat. "So heavy in sorrow you must be, little one," croons one.
• We hear the sound of something breaking the surface of the water. A rotting hand coils its way around the side of the skiff. A half-rotted once beautiful face comes into view. "If you don't give your pain freely, it must be delicious."
• Karthos slaps at the figure with his staff, and it flashes back into the water.
• We hear scrabbling at the bottom of the skiff, like fingernails clawing their way out of a coffin. Suddenly the skiff lurches, threatening to toss people off.
• "Don't make me come down there," shouts Baerwin.
• "Come down here! Give us your pain!" they reply.
• "I'll give you pain!" and he fires off a chromatic orb into the water. There is a flash, and, enraged, the sisters emerge from the water, floating 20 feet in the air. Their bloated, rotting corpses dripping into the water.
• We start fighting. They attack with magic and are flying.
• One hits Baerwin pretty hard. Another casts a spell and a Bearwin copy crawls out of the water and up into the boat.
• Baerwin attacks the other Baerwin, but he recoils, shouting in pain.
• The sirens open their mouths and start making a wailing noise. Our worst memories appear before us. "You choose to carry your pain, drown in it then."
• I kill the first of the three with an arrow. I miss the next target, distracted by my memories.
• The other two are still up. One tries to drown Bearwin, huge spectral hands made of water grasp him but he manages to stay out of the water.
• A fog envelops me. I relive the trauma of being snatched by a grell, and am stunned.
• The horrible sound comes again. I fire off another arrow, hitting the creatures, but miss my second shot.
• Baerwin kills the second one, and the remaining nymph lets out a wail of sorrow and slips beneath the waves.
• The second Bearwin attacks Resda. I boot the shadow into the water.

Korag Appears. Making Camp

• There is a shadow on the bank.
• Nervously we look closer. It is Korag. Where has he been?
• We pole the skiff to the shore to pick up Korag.
• We fill him in on the adventure so far.
• We're getting tired. At least it's no longer raining.
• We find a good campsite, set up camp and set watches.
• Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see a trident flying towards us and dive out of the way.
• "I forgot my trident," Bearwin says.
• While I start talking about setting a watch schedule Karthos says a few words and four trees uproot themselves and patrol the perimeter of the camp. He keeps going, and a wall of fog springs up around us. He then tells us the password is "Karthos is Great"
• We have a brief argument about how great Karthos is, and I get mad and stalk off to light my pipe.
• In the morning Resda looks like she has not rested at all

The Problem of Min

• We talk a little while about what we should do about Min. Take the daggers? Destroy the daggers? How could we destroy them?
• We break camp and begin making our way back towards the river. Before we do though, we find ourselves in a glade, swirling with clouds. In the middle of the glade is a corrupted rift, flickering between light and dark. As we advance, I feel a psychic pressure, as if the air itself is resisting us.
• Out of the mist floats an emaciated human. His face flickers between many faces. Where he walks, the grass wilts and petrifies.
• "You saw her, I smell it. The thief, the coward. The fool who speaks to them as if they are pets. Where is Min? Where are the daggers? You have until my breath cools to answer." It is Raksha.
• "We only saw her briefly," says Resda.
• "She killed our friend," adds Karthos.
• Raksha snorts in disgust. His form splinters into hundreds of mirrored shadows that streak into the forest in all directions, and he is gone.
• The rift is still there, black mist spilling across the ground.
• We argue for a while, then try to make our way back to the boat.

The Other Bearwin

• Eventually we make our way back to the river
• We find the river and our skiff. The other Baerwin is sitting in it
• Baerwin shouts at it "Daerwin, brother, will you join us on our quest?"
• It does not reply, and clutches it's glaive.
• I study it, thinking of what this might be. Unfortunately I have no idea.
• The others decide to kill it, and then save Bearwin.
• Baerwin is excited by this painful idea, and throws his trident at it